Gates told Ezra Klein that cyberattack capabilities capable of disrupting bank accounts and the power grid already exist today, leaving AI in a period of extreme vulnerability. He cited Anthropic's Mythos model and Project Glasswing, arguing that open-source model risks come from humans rather than AI sentience, and called for a supervisory layer with absolutes on all models.
In an interview, Gates warned that AI is powerful enough to trigger events that could cause the deaths of a billion people, saying the combination of bad actors and the latest AI tools poses a greater danger than any weapon in history. He stressed that industry self-regulation is far from enough and that law enforcement and politicians must be involved in establishing mandatory safety and regulatory measures.
Bill Gates warned in an interview airing the weekend of September 26-27, 2026 that AI has become powerful enough to be maliciously exploited to cause mass casualties, arguing that industry self-regulation alone is insufficient and calling for mandatory safety and monitoring measures involving law enforcement and politicians. He also wrote in August 2026 that AI could be used for cyberattacks, fraud, and disinformation.
At the Gates Foundation's Goalkeepers event in New York on September 22, 2026, Bill Gates said AI is developing rapidly and that progress from about a year ago shocked him, noting AI can write code, find vulnerabilities, and invade systems. He worried that society has not fully participated in discussions about the risks, describing the current transformation as "ten sci-fi novels happening at once" and comparing it to "aliens arriving." He stressed that AI differs from previous technologies and that its dual nature must be recognized. He also expressed regret over cuts in aid from wealthy countries to low-income nations, called for restoring funding, and urged combining philanthropic investment with proper AI use to accelerate global equity.
Bill Gates revealed in an interview that the Gates Foundation has partnered with Microsoft, Google, OpenAI and Anthropic to apply AI in health, education and agriculture to tackle global development challenges such as child mortality, malnutrition and maternal deaths. This year, the foundation reached a $200 million collaboration with Anthropic.
In an exclusive interview, Bill Gates said AI could either promote equality or worsen global inequality, urging that technology benefit developing countries and noting the window for AI inclusion may be only 12-18 months. He said he would soon visit OpenAI and Anthropic for discussions, and expressed interest in China's AI development and the humanoid robot games.